Dani the Therapy Dog; Gretchen ..

a therapy dog was shown to have a ..

Dr. Susan Ettinger: Well, that probably will depend a little bit on what part of the country you’re in. But, in general for about a 70 pound dog who’s on the medication either 3 times a week or every other day. Just for their drug itself, you’re probably looking at about 500 dollars per month. So, I have to say in this spectrum of some of the other injectable drugs, it’s pretty, moderately priced, but moderately priced. It’s not one of the most expensive drugs that we have.

Dogs On Campus | Pet Therapy Program

The Satisfaction with The AAV Intervention instrument used in this study is an 18-item scale that was adapted from the Pet Attitude Scale, and a treatment satisfaction scale used in a previous cooperative group study. It was administered biweekly to assess patients’ motivation to come to appointments; their tolerance of waiting times; their ability to withstand treatment experience; the effects of the AAV on nausea and pain; the lingering effect of the dog visit after leaving treatment for the day; and the patient’s perception of social support owed to the volunteer, the dog, or both. Each question in the satisfaction scale was rated on a 7-point Likert-type scale ranging from 1 (not satisfied) to 7 (extremely satisfied). A factor analysis of the questions indicated that there were aggregated underlying satisfaction factors: help with psychological symptoms (Psychological); help with physical symptoms (Physical); generally liking animals/pets (Like Animals); and positive attitudes toward close personal contact with animals (Contact with Animals). Satisfaction was assessed only after the patient had experienced the AAV. Each factor was scored by calculating the mean over all items in the scale so the possible range for each scale score was 1 to 7.

James Jacobson: Ok. Dr. Ettinger of New York, Dr. Dressler in Hawaii, thank you so much for being with us. More information, a lot more information on Palladia and all sorts of different cancer treatments both chemotherapy and natural in The Dog Cancer Survival Guide. Thank you both.

Therapy and service dogs: Friends and healers ..

One of the problems in studying the effects of AAT on cancer patients is the difficulty of measuring patient responses to the intervention. In a longitudinal study of 30 adults who were beginning nonpalliative (first-line) radiation therapy for cancer, patients were randomly assigned to a dog visit group, friendly human visit group, or quiet read- ing group. Data was collected using a demographic questionnaire, the Profile of Mood States, the Orientation to Life Questionnaire, and a self-perceived health questionnaire. Mood, sense of coherence, and self-perceived health were assessed at baseline and at the last session. In all 3 groups, levels on tests decreased after radiation therapy, and no statistically significant differences were found between groups in mood or sense of coherence, although patients all 3 of the groups considered their experiences positively and said they would recommend the intervention to other patients. The authors concluded that identifying proper outcome measures, identifying a true control intervention, and determining an adequate sample size were important for future studies.

Therapy animals: The dog-tor ..

Patients were eligible for the study if they were receiving combined chemotherapy and radiation therapy for cancer at Beth Israel Cancer Center in New York, were open to receiving AAVs, and had the ability to sign informed consent and complete the various quality of life forms in either English or Spanish. Those with significant dog allergies, dislike of dogs, or an aversion to or fear of dogs were excluded from participation. All of the therapy dogs in this study were trained by, certified with, and provided under the auspices of The Good Dog Foundation, a New York-based organization that promotes animal-assisted therapy. Patients who were starting multimodal concurrent radiation therapy and chemotherapy for head and neck cancer or GI cancers were recruited at the time of initial consultation or treatment planning visits. Patients who agreed to participate signed an IRB-approved informed consent. Demographic and clinical data (disease staging, planned treatment, comorbidities, medication lists) were obtained from the patient’s medical record.

Emotional Support Animals (ESA), Therapy Dogs & …

In a 2008 study by Morgan and colleagues, 141 randomly selected undergraduates were given an anxiety-provoking public-speaking task and then exposed to interaction with a therapy dog and handler team, a friendly person, or no human or animal interaction. After administering the State Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), the researchers wrote that patients who had interacted with the therapy dog and handler team reported significantly lower levels of anxiety compared with those who had interacted with a person alone or who had no interaction at all. Findings from a pre- and posttreatment crossover study of 230 hospitalized psychiatric patients that compared the effects of animal-assisted therapy sessions with therapeutic recreation sessions showed a significant reduction in anxiety scores in the animal-assisted therapy group. The benefits of animal-assisted therapy (AAT) in cancer patients was first documented in a 1984 study in which 15 terminally ill cancer patients received weekly 90-minute sessions with visiting dogs for 10 weeks and showed decreased anxiety and despair. In the two and a half decades since the latter study, many hospitals have welcomed animals, primarily dogs, into their recreational or complementary and alternative medical programs.

Dr. Susan Ettinger: Well, obviously, the number one cancer that we use it for is dogs with skin or cutaneous mast cell tumors. But we’ve also learned that this drug inhibits some of the other antiangiogenic receptors. So, it can be use or something called antiangiogenesis. So, we’re learning as a drug has been available for about 2 years now that it’s having some efficacy for some other cancers specifically fibro carcinomas, anal sac carcinomas, and osteosarcomas. So, it’s being use a little bit more wide spread than it was initially designed for.

Dr. Susan Ettinger: Yeah, Palladia is a really exciting new drug for a lot of different reasons. First, it is the first FDA approved drug for dogs. Most of the other cancer, anticancer therapies that we use in dogs so your traditional chemotherapy drugs were designed for people and over the years, we’ve learned how to give safely in dogs. So, Palladia was designed for dogs, and it was actually targets a mutation that about a third to a half on dogs with mast cell tumors have. So it’s a class of drugs called secret inhibitors and it targets its mutations that some dogs with mast cell tumors have.

Nonscientific qualitative responses to the intervention focused on 2 areas: the unconditional love that pets were seen as providing and the friendly dedication on the part of the pet owners. One patient was quoted saying, “Every dog visited me in the past few treatments and makes me feel good. It is such a good program.” Another patient had suggested that the AAVs be extended to others outside of the study: “This such a great thing, it should be offered to everyone in the waiting room, not just to individual patients.”

Animal Tales: Brody, Certified Therapy Dog and Leader …

An AAV was scheduled for each radiation therapy treatment or chemotherapy appointment. More than one AAV and certified therapy dog team was assigned to each patient so that a team would be available each day that radiation was scheduled. The daily visit took place in the radiation therapy waiting areas, the chemotherapy suite, or the hospital room. During the visits, the patient and dog interacted in the usual ways, by petting, talking, and playing. It was expected that other patients in the waiting area would also interact with the therapy dogs.

Animal Tales: Brody, Certified Therapy Dog and ..

As patients became increasingly uncomfortable over the course of radiation therapy, experiencing pain, fatigue, skin lesions, and the inability to eat, swallow solid food, or to speak, the therapy dogs remained happy to see them, not seeming to notice any alteration in appearance. Patients also commented on the value of the human visitors. One patient said that she greatly looked forward to and relied on the support she received from the owners of the therapy dogs, but said, “People couldn’t have just come alone without their dogs – that would have been awkward and silly.” Another patient stated, “I greatly benefited from the presence of the dogs. They dispelled my worries while I was waiting for my treatment.” A few patients reacted so positively to the AAVs that they continued to remain in contact with the visitors even after their participation in the program had ended. Such positive outcomes were especially meaningful in the context of this study.